A Rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug being developed by Pfizer Inc. performed well in a late clinical trial, according to press release by the pharmaceutical company released on Sunday.
Tasocitinib, a pain medication, met two of three key goals during the trial. Around 71 percent of patients who took the medication experienced reduced inflammation and pain.
The pain drug was compared with a placebo. However, as Reuters reported, the drug did not show a significant difference from placebo regarding remission of arthritis.
“This is the first oral medication for rheumatoid arthritis that has had a successful Phase III study this century,” the study’s investigator Dr. Roy Fleischmann told Reuters.
The new drug is part of a class of drugs called JAK inhibitors, which targets the protein known as JAK, which is known to cause joint degeneration.
“We are encouraged by the statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements we observed in a proportion of patients treated with tasocitinib monotherapy in ORAL Solo,” Roy Fleischmann, Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said in a statement. “Further research into additional treatment options for patients with moderately to severely active RA is important, and we look forward to seeing the results of the additional Phase 3 ORAL trials of tasocitinib.”
Shares of Pfizer (PFE) fell 13 cents to $17.05 on Monday.
Tasocitinib, a pain medication, met two of three key goals during the trial. Around 71 percent of patients who took the medication experienced reduced inflammation and pain.
The pain drug was compared with a placebo. However, as Reuters reported, the drug did not show a significant difference from placebo regarding remission of arthritis.
“This is the first oral medication for rheumatoid arthritis that has had a successful Phase III study this century,” the study’s investigator Dr. Roy Fleischmann told Reuters.
The new drug is part of a class of drugs called JAK inhibitors, which targets the protein known as JAK, which is known to cause joint degeneration.
“We are encouraged by the statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements we observed in a proportion of patients treated with tasocitinib monotherapy in ORAL Solo,” Roy Fleischmann, Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said in a statement. “Further research into additional treatment options for patients with moderately to severely active RA is important, and we look forward to seeing the results of the additional Phase 3 ORAL trials of tasocitinib.”
Shares of Pfizer (PFE) fell 13 cents to $17.05 on Monday.
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